Shadow Lake

Difficulty: Moderate
Trip Type: Day Hike / Multi-Day Basecamp
Distance: ~8.2 miles from trailhead / ~0.6 miles from Sundance Lake
Elevation: 9,604 feet
Coordinates: 45.10152, -109.58507
Time: ~3 to 4 hours from trailhead
Access: Maintained trail to the footbridge, then unmaintained off-trail navigation. Departs from the West Fork Rock Creek Trailhead.
Bugs: Minimal (little to no bugs)

Getting there

The journey begins at the West Fork Rock Creek Trailhead. Drive past the campgrounds along the gravel access road to reach the primary parking and staging area.

The hike

If you are traveling straight from the vehicle turnaround, the route to Shadow Lake spans roughly 8.2 miles one way and involves almost 1,700 vertical feet of elevation gain. For hikers linking water bodies together, this destination sits about 0.6 miles past Sundance Lake. With a normal day pack, the hike is not bad. You will follow the main, highly maintained trail up through the valley until you reach the footbridge that brings you up toward Sundance Pass.

Once you reach the footbridge, you will leave the main path and head off-trail. Fortunately, the cross-country walking stays easy as you navigate the final stretch into the upper basin to reach the shoreline of Shadow Lake, which served as our day one basecamp.

Tips & safety

• High Country Staging: This basin is one of our favorite spots in the entire mountain range. It serves as a pristine basecamp for mountaineering and backcountry skiing adventures.

• Whitetail Couloir: For extreme adventures, climbing from the lake to the top of the nearby Whitetail Couloir involves a brutal, steep push of roughly 3,000 vertical feet over just 0.6 miles, featuring an intense 60% grade coming back down. If you pack skis, boots, crampons, and ice axes, expect your pack to weigh around 60 lbs. Late summer conditions can leave the top hundred feet bare, preventing skiing from the very peak.

• Fishing: FWP and GNIS data listed for Yellowstone Cutthroat